The Dragon's Lair
The Dragon's Lair is a short story which was first published in The Modern Boy issue 294, 23rd September 1933 under the title The Dragon's Lair!. The story was subsequently collected as the 11th short story of the third Biggles book Biggles of the Camel Squadron, published in March 1934. Synopsis A unknown new anti aircraft weapon seems to causing one British aircraft after another to fall in flames in an unexplained manner. Biggles, Algy and Henry are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Plot (may contain spoilers - click on expand to read) While out on patrol with Algy and the Professor, Biggles and his flight notice a Bristol Fighter falling in flames near Chateau Contrbleu crashing in an area where there were already three other aircraft wrecks. This was puzzling as there had been no anti aircraft barrage and no sign of enemy fighters. Just a filmy cloud in the sky. Still puzzled, Biggles flies towards the area the next day. Now there are five wrecks. Some instinct makes Biggles glance up and he suddenly throws his Camel into a hard turn and has a fleeting glance of a dozen streamers of white smoke just missing his wingtips. Back at Maranique, Smyth points out a big hole in Biggles' wing fabric. It smells of phosphorus. By chance or because of his speed, the phosphorus had passed clean through without setting the fabric on fire. So that's the enemy weapon! A large gun or mortar which, like the proverbial dragon, spits out fire and brimstone. They must find the dragon's lair. They wait for a cloudy day as they would need cover to approach the area in safety. The plan was for Biggles, Algy and the Professor to split up near the Chateau and each investigate the area separately for "the dragon". Near the chateau, Biggles doesn't have much luck, but then he says a formation of Albatros fighters approaching. And then, the strangest thing of all, there was a British Camel behind them in formation. The Albatros fighters soon spot the imposter and a chaotic melee breaks out. Biggles sees the Camel successfully dodge into some clouds and he himself also evades the enemy fighters and heads for home. The Camel among the Albatros fighters was the Professor's. He had joined the formation thinking that it was Biggles and Algy but was then shocked to find himself among a large force of the enemy. However he soon had the idea that if he stayed with them at the rear, he might be able to scout out the chateau with impunity as the Germans would be reluctant to fire the phosphorus weapon for fear of hitting their own aircraft. This ruse worked as shortly before he was spotted, the Professor had seen what he needed to see. The centre of the chateau had been hollowed out and the phosphorus weapon was mounted within it. The Germans had tried to drag a canvas cover over it but had been just a little too late. Biggles now works out a plan to take out the dragon. He and Algy load up with smoke bombs and drop them upwind of the chateau. The German gunners are blinded by smoke. The Professor then approaches the chateau and drops his load of Cooper bombs. The first few fall short but a massive explosion tells Biggles that the Professor had scored a hit. During the egress, something seems to be wrong with the Professor's plane. He is forced to put down in a field. There is a narrow escape as Biggles and Algy have to strafe German troops which are approaching the field but they are gratified to see that the Professor manages to take off again. Back on the ground, the Professor said that his aircraft had not been damaged. But the exploding phosphorus shells of the Dragon had so blinded him that he had been forced to let his eyes recover before taking off again. Characters *Biggles *Algy Lacey *Henry Watkins *Flight Sergeant Smyth Aircraft *Sopwith Camel *Bristol Fighter *Albatros Places Visited *266 Squadron, Maranique *Chateau Contrableu *The Lille-La Cateau railway Mentioned Editorial Changes Other Research Notes References to the past Incongruities Chronology (see also table at Timeline of the Biggles Stories) *There are no indicators of timeline in this story. We cannot take dressing from The Great Arena two stories before as Henry is supposed to "go west" in that story which is placed out of sequence. The alternative is to take dressing from the next story, Biggles' Day Off, which is set around March 1918. Publication History *''The Modern Boy'', Issue 294, 23rd Sep 1933 (as The Dragon's Lair!) *''Biggles of the Camel Squadron'', John Hamilton, 1934 and reprints *''Biggles Goes to War'', Boys' Friend Library, 1938 *''Biggles of the Camel Squadron'', Thames, 1954 and reprints *''Biggles of the Camel Squadron'', Dean and Son, 1960s and reprints *''Biggles of the Fighter Squadron'', Red Fox, 1992 and reprints *''Biggles of the Camel Squadron'', Norman Wright, 2011 References Category:Short stories Category:Biggles short stories Category:World War One era short stories